Straitjacket Feeling

A/N: Let me tell you about college lol for the past two weeks I had to pull off twelve-hour working shifts every single day; eight hour lecture and labs and then followed by four more hours of homework afterwards. I pulled a twenty-one hour full shift to get homework done- ended up not even finishing it and had to rush to get it done in lab. Needless to say, I probably should have paced myself more and I put myself through hell (I also had to battle a persistent cold while I was at it). Anyways, this isn't really the place to bitch about that but incase you were wondering why I was taking so long in updating, that was a main reason for it. But, somehow I managed to sit down and complete this in one sitting (probably the only one I had for awhile) so I apologize if it doesn't seem to rightfully connect. Luckily my schedule's cleared up so I have some more time to relax on my hands and hopefully I'll put it to good use.

"When is Captain Unohana getting here? Why is it taking her so long?"

"I'm sure she has a valid reason; she'll be here soon enough." Akon assured; watching as the silver-haired woman seemed to lightly pace back and forth through the room. He stood close by the doorway in order to keep an eye on the both of them, although the only other figure seemed far more content with dozing in and out of consciousness as he rested himself against the bed in the corner. "She is not typically a woman to make an audience wait."

"Exactly, that's what has me worried." Isane sighed; pausing long enough to carefully tuck aside a loose strand of hair before she continued on with her pacing. Then again, she wasn't really one to seem so anxious but... she just needed to speak with her Captain about this whole ordeal and see if she couldn't figure out what was really going on. She paused once more in mid-step at the soft squeak of the door being pushed open; she waited just long enough to see who would be on the other side before she let out a fresh sigh of relief. "Oh thank Heavens, Captain Unohana where have you been?"

"Oh dear, I hope you weren't waiting all too long for me; I had some other 'business' I had to attend to for a moment." the woman answered. "Another matter was brought to my attention but I had to brush it aside for now... or at least until an appropriate time arose."

"What kind of... matter?" she questioned carefully; watching as her Captain seemed to express a slight hesitation in finding an answer for her.

"Yes well... I do suppose it would pertain to now but let's get a few other things out of the way first." Unohana started. "Did you do what I asked of you?"

She frowned slightly and glanced over to the semi-sleeping figure. "Uh well... yes but my technique may or may not have agitated the wound instead; I do believe it's stabilized for now but I would like a request to keep an eye on it for now. I wasn't able to properly reset the bone just yet, it might just be fine healing on its own; however I would still like to be able to keep it in check."

"I believe we can make that possible." Unohana agreed. "If anything, I would like someone to keep someone on watch for him; at least a medical personnel... we may still be able to do something with those scars and get things in more proper condition."

She nodded once more before she moved to press the subject from before. "Now then... what was that you were speaking of before? What kind of matter was brought to your attention?" At this point, she didn't really put all too much into consideration of her Captain's own privacy and... well curiosity was getting to the best of her and she figured she was too far into this situation to be rejected. Still, she watched as a further sense of reluctance seemed to stroke her Captain's expression.

"Yes, about that matter, it has come to my attention that, some of the 'subjects' from before have received new reports." the Captain started. "As of now, it seems as though the reports will be coming in clearly throughout the next few days but as of now... one of them did come back positive; and I do mean, several of the tests came back with the same results so there's no way of denying it. She is... outside waiting for a brief moment to speak with him."

It felt like her stomach was going to up-heave into her throat for a moment as she glanced towards the drifting man once more. "Are you sure?"

"As I said, several of the tests were performed, including one that was well-advanced from the ones back in our own Division." she nodded. "As well, she's here right now and I do believe she deserves a moment- and I do believe if she doesn't get it soon, there may be a few injured Division members because of it."

Well with a threat like that... she already had an idea of who it could've possibly been. It seemed to take forever before she lightly nodded. "Okay... uh... I guess we'll step out for a moment and let them have some time. I do have something I wish to discuss with you when time permits."

"Yes well, now is as good of time as any." Unohana replied. "Now then, if you two will follow me, I do believe there is a lot that the three of us have to discuss anyways. And as I mentioned, it would be best if the woman was given passage here as soon as possible." she lightly ushered the two back out and pulled the door closed behind her.

They always fell for the same old 'fake sleeping' routine; then again, the fact that he memorized how to manipulate his energy enough to proclaim the false illusion of sleep probably had a lot to do with it as well. He pulled himself into a short stretch but paused the moment it seemed to only unstill his lung from its sore placement; luckily it felt like he had already vomited all the blood out of it so all he'd have to deal with was the irritating pockets that felt as though they floated around in it.

So another woman was claimed to have come back positive. But again, that was impossible.

How difficult was that to understand- although he was curious as to which woman it was... there were plenty to choose from after all. In reality, he didn't really care much for which one would show, he was more focused on which one he didn't want back. As cruel as that did sound, Heaven forbid the first woman report back- he couldn't correctly recall her name at this moment but he did remember that she was a Captain; he also remembered a lot of the markings on her body and just how well shaped she was. Not that those details were really much help now but it was nice to look back on.

Pushing his weight off from the headboard behind him, he was halfway between pushing himself from the bed as well before the door was pushed open once more; drawing his attention to that instead. And the first moment he connected with the black eyes on the other side... it felt like his entire body stilled.

"Do you have to look so pissed off? And why the hell do you look like shit?"

Shaking his head, he finished getting to his feet and brushed his hand through his hair; fingertips pushing back up on his glasses. "Well, in all honesty, you are the absolute last person I wanted to see here; in fact, the only other time I wanted to see you again was never."

She snorted slightly as that heavy wrinkle appeared across the bridge of her nose again. "Well don't act like I wanted to be back here just the same; I'd much rather burn this place down and drown the ashes."

"No one's here to stop you from doing that."

"Why don't you stop acting like such a bitch."

"Why don't you tell me some good news and I'll readjust myself." he muttered.

"You really want some good news?" she questioned as she moved her hands to fit against her narrow hips. "Here's some good news, you're not the father."

That sounded like a terrible beginning to some kind of reality talk show of some sort. He frowned briefly and crossed his arms over his chest as though to counter her own movement. "Well believe me, I was certain of that before you even had to say it. The frightening aspect of this is the overall fact that you're a carrier now. I almost feel sorry for the man responsible- that's not to say that a congratulations is not in order. However... I'm not entirely sure if you'll be able to convince the courts otherwise."

An almost snort of a chuckle escaped her as arms moved to cross over her chest now, as though to mock him instead. "I don't believe you really know the extent of my power and control in any kind of situation. A Division left without its Captain is as good as a wounded offspring without its mother. This whole 'confirmation' has barely come out, the reports will be easy to destroy; the people will be willing to forget under pressure; as for me... well I do enjoy leaving for months at a time to push myself into a self-made torture test of training. No one will know the difference. You see, Espada, you're not the only smart one here."

He paused at her words and forced himself to re-evaluate the situation for a moment. She came back positive but dropped by just to inform him that... the paternity of it didn't belong to him- which was a given from the start. And... because of her own power in the Society, she would be able to erase all evidence of this from the start? And not only do that but have a reasonable excuse for her absence when in reality she was leaving to conceal and carry out her term. "You're a manipulative woman but you have your goals lined up and well in sight- I'm impressed." he started. "The fact that you would go to such an extent to destroy something such as this is fairly amazing; you're a woman of many secrets."

"I'm a woman of reputation and conflict, that's all." she corrected before she stepped back in turn to leave. "I almost feel bad for the rest of these women- they don't get the open chance to willingly leave as I do; instead, they'll be stuck in this hellhole with you- that seems more torturous than the actual carrying term."

He watched her carefully as she eventually turned back to the entrance door and pulled it open; he waited till she was just barely out of the room before he decided to speak and extend this little 'conversation' of theirs. "Are you going to tell your other one about it? How he or she is going to have a new little playmate?"

She paused at his words and took a moment to settle them back out before she pushed the door back closed with her fingertips. "And just how the hell would you know-"

"Because child carrying and birth does quite a bit on the female body; it's more apparent than you might think although it takes quite a bit of heavy notice to even pick out the differences." he started. "It's probably something you don't exactly want to hear but... there is a difference; you've got a bit of scar tissue and your hips feel a bit misaligned. I mean, I'm only making an assumption here but your reaction has only confirmed it."

She held a stiff expression for a moment as her dark eyes only seemed to burn through his own; it took a few moments before she seemed to calm herself and released the thick tension that burrowed fingertips into her palm. Slowly, she brought her arms back up and crossed them over her chest once more. "You know... when the first case happened, I was told that no matter what, I was always going to be a high-risk case. And with such, I didn't think she would make it that far; I always imagined that I would miscarriage and those seven months I took off would be cut down to maybe two or three. But that didn't happen. I'm imagining that this is going to be just the same... waiting every day, every second for some kind of sign that's going to say 'fuck having another kid' and have it all be over. I'll give it the same amount of time I did before and when that time's up and it's still there, well then my seven month training begins."

"Who is she?"

"She's the one responsible for a wealth of health problems, constant bed rest, puking up blood several times and the reason my pelvis has a small fracture line in it still. Shit, there were so many problems the midwife I hired was so certain that I was going to die in childbirth that she asked if I wanted a priest to be there; I knocked her out cold halfway through the question and made sure she didn't get back up for some time after.... She's still young... I don't think she'll know any better when her new 'playmate' has a different skin color than she does. In all honesty, I probably won't tell her; there's a whole world out there I haven't exposed her to yet so this won't be any different."

A quiet sigh seemed to pass him as he listened carefully to her words; noting that her tone remained even and the same throughout the brief story; it was easy to tell that she had yet to share it with anyone else and he imagined that she only did so with him because... well it's not like he held her in much regards anyways. "I'm guessing you keep her some place else then."

"There's a house in the mountains that used to belong to my grandmother; it's still in reasonable condition. I have a housemaid that keeps an eye on her most of the time and every now and again I drop in to see how she's doing." she replied. "It's too dangerous to bring her here; there's too much risk on my part for it."

"How old is she?"

"She'll be three next month." she answered before she moved to pull the door open once more. "She's looking like her father more and more every day; I'm almost frightened to think of how she's going to look when she's older."

"Is he not involved?"

"Her father's dead; he was killed in the Winter Wars... in all honesty, he never even knew about her because I refused to give myself the chance to- and I don't regret it. She doesn't need to know about that part of her heritage. Maybe one day but only after I'm long since dead... maybe then she'll stop asking me where she got her white eyes from."

He listened to the sound of the door squeak as it was pulled back closed; ending the conversation and probably choosing to be the last time he'd ever see or hear from the woman again. He was probably more happy about that than he should be... but it was one name off the list and in admittance. It seemed like a lot of people were going to be taking advantage of the Ugly Captain's absence, which really couldn't be more reasonable. "You are a strange, strange woman."

He tried not to think too much on it but he suddenly found himself curious as to who else she was with and who was the actual 'father' in this term. He figured he knew who the first one had been from the subtle clues she had dropped and the knowledge he already know from the other half of her previous relationship... he wasn't entirely sure if there should've been a sense of tragedy in it or not. Regardless, he pushed the mess from his mind and tried to keep it out of his focus for now. Right now... there was a lot to think on but he preferred not to at the given moment. Maybe a quick shower would help to ease his frustrations and clear himself of the quick, self-assertive migraine that was coming on.

XXXX

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XX

Stepping back out into the open area of the laboratory area, she glanced around to see that most of the place seemed to be clear of any other Division members; perhaps that was for the best for them. "Can we speak now?"

"Of course, there's not a lot to fear in the open such as this." Captain Unohana nodded.

"Did you plan for Captain Mayuri's sudden departure?" Isane questioned.

It seemed to take a moment before she watched as her dark-haired Captain seemed to usher in a slight smile in answer. "I may have pulled some strings in it and may have made a small suggestion to it but no, it was not planned; it was more of an impulsive matter that I took upon myself to act upon."

"Captain!"

"I apologize if the manner is out of character for me, Isane but... there were things I felt needed to be taken care of first and I would not have been able to do so with his interference; I assure you, he'll be back within a few days and things will resume as normal. For now though, let's just do the most that we can."

She wanted to share the fact that she hoped the Captain never returned but that wouldn't be quite the correct thing to say at the moment; she could simply share it with the Captain later on in a more private setting where... a Twelfth Division member wouldn't be present. "I trust you and your judgment, Captain... you wouldn't do anything to purposely sabotage a situation as sensitive as this one."

"Well, he would see to it as sabotage and I'm sure he already holds his suspicions that I'm the reasoning behind this sudden 'call to duty', in which case he would be correct." Unohana replied. "I only hope that we don't receive any more reports, in which case we can hold on to this brief moment of solace; if not, then we will simply accept it as such and try to find an appropriate reaction to such. I'm sure Officer Akon here has been notified on any kind of situation that might arise."

He nodded briefly at the mention. "Yes, there is a list of such reactions and how they should be handled; I must however note that I was informed to follow the reactions strictly to protocol-"

"What exactly is the protocol?" Isane questioned.

He paused a moment as though he hadn't considered someone asking such a thing. "... We were informed that as soon as the results were handed in and they were listed as positive, the subjects were to be admitted to our facility; there is a wing that is now specifically assigned to the subjects and that is where they'll be staying until the end of their terms."

"Wait, you... you expect the women to stay here? In this facility?" Isane asked.

"Well yes, that is best for the-"

"That's the worst possible thing to do!" she interrupted without so much as giving him a chance to finish his sentence.

"Isane, calm yourself." Unohana advised; watching as her Lieutenant glanced towards her in a state of questioning and maybe minor shock.

"But Captain-"

"Just let him finish, please."

He seemed to give a moment as though expecting for the taller woman to interrupt him once more before he slowly continued. "As I was saying... we are expected to keep this experiment mostly under wraps and keep it from getting contaminated; in order to achieve that, we would like to isolate the volunteering subjects just as well. Now, they'll be free to communicate and commerce with one another and... him as well but it would be within the confines of the facility. However, there is speak of moving the experiment to an entirely different building just a few miles away from here- there was a brief hint of nervousness about how the other Divisions would react to such isolation; we're only doing it for the subjects' safety and in moving them from here, we're removing them from the possible out-lash of the other... non-agreeing Divisions."

She still held a dislike for it and wished she could have verbally continued to let him know that but... she kept herself in check. "So... you're planning on telling Captain Soifon, right now, that she won't be able to return to her Division and that she's going to have to stay here for the next nine months of her life? How much of your life do you value?"

"Isane- please!" Unohana interrupted once more. "Here, if you will, could you return and see how Lieutenant Kurotsuchi is doing? We've left her alone for quite some time now and I wouldn't want her to think that we've forgotten about her. Just follow any request that she might make, I'll remain here with Officer Akon as we speak a few things over."

Perhaps she had pushed her Captain's patience for the last time but... ugh, there was no sense in arguing it now. She could only nod in return. "Yes ma'am, what if she asks for him-"

"As I said, just agree and follow through with any request that she might make." she reinforced; watching as her taller Lieutenant nodded once more before she turned to leave. She waited patiently until the woman was out of sight and earshot before she moved her attention back to the Division male. "I will admit, telling Captain Soifon such a thing would be an incredibly dangerous thing to do."

"Which is why I am not looking forward to it but there are procedures to follow." Akon started as he glanced back towards the winding corridor just in time to see the dark-haired Captain leaving; taking her own way towards the exit of the building. "Captain Soifon, there is a manner I wish to speak to you about."

"You're right, there's something I'm going to speak with you about as well." she snapped as she turned her direction on a dime and headed straight towards him; her smaller body moved with threat like that of a large beast and those soulless eyes could've threatened a sane man into madness with fear. "You keep tabs and reports on everyone involved in this 'experiment' of yours, correct?"

"Yes but-"

"I'm going to need you to salvage any of them that have my name on them and bring them to me."

"May I ask why?"

A brief frown curved her pale lips as the constant questioning annoyed her to no end. "Because I want verification them just before I destroy them from existence; and after that, I'd like to meet with the few people involved in this and... threaten the same manner."

"Captain Soifon, that is not possible on my part; I must reserve that paperwork for when Captain Mayuri returns-"

"If you so much as value your life or the life of your Captain, you will carry out my request dutifully and not wrong me in any sense that may cross your mind." she snapped. "And do not mistaken me for being easily fooled, if I so much as get a hint that you even so much as thought to cross me, I will show how you how much you should have valued yourself. I can make even the strongest man show regret and you will take note of it."

She watched as the Division member seemed to pale considerably underneath the pressure of the threats before a slight nod moved his head and he carefully turned to remove himself from the scene. She turned back to the shorter woman and watched as that ever scorned look remained etched on her face as though it was meant to be a permanent feature of hers. "Soifon-"

"Retsu, I have no time to discuss matters with you right now."

She was not an easy woman to be talked back to but... this situation proved that there was a time to back down when needed; after all, she could understand the woman's position. "I only wish to wonder about your intentions."

A brief groan left her lips as it felt as though everyone had moved in to question every inch of her intentions for today; the pressure only seemed to intensify with the growing unbalance of her hormones. "Look, I may not seem like the type of person who can keep steady 'track' of things but... believe me when I say that I'm positive of who the paternity belongs to, almost as positive as the results of those tests to say. Now, if I erase any trace of these results, then I eliminate myself from this 'test' and from the overall harassment of this cursed Division."

"And then you can leave peacefully, correct? Without having anyone question your intentions... just like before?" Unohana questioned.

"Exactly."

She waited patiently for a moment before she continued. "Why would you get yourself involved in this in the first place?"

"I have my reasons, Captain Unohana, just as much as you have yours." Soifon answered. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe I'll follow up on where that replacement Lieutenant went and ensure that he's doing exactly as I threatened."

She watched as the woman continued on past her. "If you don't mind me asking one more question... whose is it?"

"As personal as a question that is... let's just say... sometimes when you can't have the one you want, you have to go with the next one waiting in line to keep your head above the water. For once, this isn't a difficult choice and it'll have a better ending result."

In a way, the answer made sense and she nodded lightly to herself as the woman continued on until she was out of sight. She made a note to herself to keep the location of the old house off in the mountainside fresh in her mind- just incase she needed to visit it again. She trusted the other female Captain and her intentions... after all, she was just protecting herself and the unborn child she was carrying, not to mention the child she already had who was still in need of her protection.

She just prayed those of the Division who stood in her way would make the better choice and step down... she didn't want to see any of them in her own Division... or worse yet, the morgue which would really be the first place they'd end up.